Previous | Next 

Renewal through suffering

Roberson Mbayamvula

Christians in Congo think that the time has come for renewal. We think that through all the things we are experiencing in our country, the Lord is in the process of renewing our lives. Our church is facing the challenge, confronting the reality of suffering.

People don’t like to accept suffering. How can suffering be part of the Christian life? Yet, in the Old Testament, we see Job suffering. In the New Testament, we see Jesus Himself suffering. He accompanied the sisters of Lazarus, and when they told Him that if He had been there, their brother would not have died, Jesus cried. Jesus also suffered hunger, and He didn’t have any place to put His head (Matthew 8:20). Later, the night before His crucifixion, Jesus cried, “Father, if it’s possible, please take this cup away.”

We must try to understand, to find a theological basis for suffering. What is the response of the Mennonite Brethren churches to this world that is in chaos?

We see people suffering in Africa, Latin America; everywhere in the world, people are suffering. When we look at the situation of the North American people with a flourishing economy, how can we in that situation speak of suffering? Yet, if things change and tomorrow you North American Christians have to face other realities, are you ready to know a time of suffering? Suffering is not only for Africans. It can even happen in North America. You are not special. Can we experience God in our midst even in suffering?

Causes of hope

We have reason to hope in 1 Peter 4:12-19. Peter was writing to Christians who had suffered persecution under Nero, speaking of a period of suffering and saying the suffering would become even more intense. In this situation, he insisted on the need for mental preparation. He said: Don’t find it strange that you are suffering.

He went on to explain that there are good reasons for suffering:

When we suffer with Christ, we have joy with Him. That might seem crazy, but God promises it in 1 Peter 1:6 and 1 Peter 4:13. Suffering leads us into communion with Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3:10 Paul said, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Suffering leads to us being glorified with Jesus Christ (see Romans 8:17).

Suffering in the household of God

The 1 Peter passage says suffering will begin in the household of God and then asks: If it’s beginning with us, what is going to happen to those who refuse to believe? (4:17).

The things which we are suffering today because of Jesus Christ are a privilege, not a punishment. I am not saying that we can be saved because we suffer or that works can bring us salvation. But I want you to understand that suffering is going to begin in the household of God, and Christians are not exempt from suffering.

In Africa today, everywhere there is war, but I want you to understand that Jesus Christ can overcome war. I’ve seen war. I was born, grew up and studied in Congo. Now I am working as a chaplain in a university in Kinshasa. There is war all around us. I saw students and civilians with no weapons, but they were able to master and control those who came with weapons. I saw that with my own eyes. That is why I believe the Bible when it says a thousand can fall to the right and others on the left, but the just will persevere. I believe in the presence of God.

Finding solutions

What we must do is look for solutions. We have to identify the causes of suffering. We must do this as individuals but also as a community.

Every group, every people has the potential for developing. Whatever your circumstances are – even if you are impoverished, even if you can’t read – you are capable of something. God considers you as having potential. I believe that the Lord is capable of raising up men and women who will be able to discover the causes and sources of their problems and to take action for renewal.

We must be renewed in God. Are you ready to meet God? Are you ready to allow him to change you? If we want to be renewed by the Lord, we must follow His direction. We must be in His vision. Philippians says that all of us should have the same vision, “and if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you” (3:15). On the eve of the third millennium, through suffering, we must walk together in the same direction.

As Mennonite Christians, we are not afraid. The Lord has given us a vision, but it is a vision also for the family, the church, the country, the whole continent, indeed the whole world. The Lord wants us to have a global vision.

We must help our communities better organize themselves and their resources to meet our social and political problems. We must help each other, and take responsibility for our situation. If we want to overcome all suffering, it has something to do with the structures we have in place. We must support the capabilities of our members, not with heavier structures, but with dynamic structures which move the church forward.

Finally, all Christians, wherever they are, must speak of Jesus. The Bible says we must speak on every occasion, whether it is a good occasion or an unfavourable one (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Let’s preach the good news. Jesus Christ won’t return until we reach those who haven’t heard, those who have eyes but don’t see, those who listen but don’t understand.

We must be renewed through suffering. It is a reality. We must reflect deeply about suffering and then include that vision in the true mission of the church. This must be our way of living. We hope for peace, and we believe in the Lord.

Roberson Mbayamvula is pastor of an MB church in Kinshasa, Congo, and a chaplain at the Protestant University of Congo. This article is adapted from a message he preached at the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren consultation in Buhler, Kansas, July 11, 1999.

Previous | Next 

Last modified June 22, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.